Social support as determinants of disaster preparedness

Abstract

Introduction: A social support is a performance of emotional and physical comfort of expressing an individual loved, cared for, and valued in the community. Parent prior education about disaster preparedness enhances their children’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioral coping skills. Every individual has to know the school plan of action during emergenies. Filipinos know that they are at risk but they are not making disaster preparedness a priority until they experience disaster.  Social support from peer, family, and school is a preventive factor during and after a disaster.

Objective: To assess social support in terms of family, peers, and school support towards disaster preparedness among Filipino students.

Methods: A descriptive correlation design was used to determine the relationship between social support with disaster preparedness of grades nine and ten public high school students. Nine hundred thirty-three students were selected through purposive sampling from disaster-prone areas of the Philippines.

Result: Social support in terms of family, peer, and school support was also high. Social support was significantly related to disaster preparedness. 

Conclusion: The higher the social support from parent, peer, and school, the more the students found to engage in disaster preparedness.